Huw Edwards final TV slot cancelled in sudden schedule change amid photo accusations

Huw Edwards was due to appear as a guest on The One Show last Thursday, but he was replaced at the last minute – with details later emerging that he first heard about the allegations on the same day as his scheduled appearance.

On Wednesday night, his wife Vicky Flind made a statement identifying him as the BBC star who is alleged to have paid thousands of pounds to an unnamed person from when they were aged 17 to 20 and received sexual images from them.

The BBC News presenter, 61, whose career has included announcing the Queen's death and covering a number of general elections, had been due to speak to The One Show on Thursday 6 July about the BBC Proms, which he was supposed to be part of the coverage team for.

At the end of last Wednesday's One Show, host Alex Jones said: "Tomorrow Sir Lenny Henry, Huw Edwards and Katya Adler will be here. Have a lovely evening, we will see you then. Goodbye."

However, in Thursday's episode he was replaced by Petroc Trelawny, who talked about the Proms instead.

Programme information for the episode on iPlayer still reads: "Alex Jones and Roman Kemp speak to Sir Lenny Henry about his new children’s book. Huw Edwards and Katya Adler tell us what we can expect from this year’s BBC Proms. Plus, Steve Backshall on the creatures living in our seas."

Vicky's statement explained Huw had learned of the allegations on that Thursday, saying: "In light of the recent reporting regarding the 'BBC Presenter' I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.

"I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children. Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.

"The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he'll stay for the foreseeable future. Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.

"To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday. In the circumstances and given Huw's condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end."

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed there is nothing to indicate a criminal offence was committed and are taking no further action.

A BBC spokesperson said: "We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.

"The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved."

If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or [email protected].

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